The 2024 World Nature Photography Awards are a striking reminder of nature's duality: its breathtaking beauty intertwined with its unforgiving brutality. Tracey Lund from the UK took the grand prize for her stunning portrayal of two gannets engaged in a fierce struggle over a fish, amidst the turbulent waters near the Shetland Islands.
Other notable entries include crabs clinging tenaciously to survival in the raging river currents and zebras racing against time as they evade the relentless pursuit of cheetahs. Here, we present a curated selection of standout photographs that captivated audiences in this year's event.
Related: 15 Remarkable Winners of World Nature Photography Awards
1. Grand Prize Winner and Gold, Behavior – Birds. Photo: Tracey Lund (UK)
Two gannets under the water. Location: Shetland Islands.
2. Silver, Behavior – Birds. Photo: Lakshitha Karunarathhna (Sri Lanka)
A yellow-billed oxpecker sitting on an African water buffalo. Location: Kenya.
3. Gold, Behavior – Mammals. Photo: Alexander Brackx (Belgium)
A mother zebra and her foal being attacked by a cheetah. Location: Maasai Mara National Reserve,
4. Gold, People and nature. Photo: Pavlos Evangelidis (Greece)
Traditional stilt fishermen try their luck at sunset. Location: Koggala, Sri Lanka.
5. Gold, Planet Earth's landscapes and environments. Photo: Ivan Pedretti (Italy)
Beach and Vestrahorn mountain. Location: Stokksnes, Iceland.
6. Gold, Underwater. Photo: Andy Schmid (Switzerland)
A female orca splitting a herring bait ball. Location: Skjervøy, Norway.
7. Gold, Black and white. Photo: Richard Li (USA)
A leopard patrolling the forest at night. Location: East Rift Valley, Kenya.
8. Gold, Nature photojournalism. Photo: Celia Kujala (USA)
Sea lion pup. Location: Coronado Islands, Baja California, Mexico.
9. Gold, Behavior – Invertebrates. Photo: Bill Klipp (USA)
Sally light-foot crabs. Location: Santiago Island, Galapagos Islands.
10. Gold, Behavior – Amphibians and reptiles. Photo: John Seagar (UK)
A lava lizard standing on a marine iguana. Location: Galapagos Islands.
11. Gold, Plants and fungi. Photo: Chatree Lertsintanakorn (Thailand)
Thismia thaithongiana. Location: Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, Tak Province, Thailand.
12. Silver, Underwater. Photo: Philip Hamilton (UK).
A young humpback whale. Location: Kingdom of Tonga.
13. Bronze, Behavior – Invertebrates. Photo: Kevin Blackwell (USA)
Cuckoo wasp, also called an emerald wasp (Chrysis angolensis). Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
14. Silver, Animals in their habitat. Photo: Thomas Vijayan (Canada)
Canadian lynx. Location: Canada.
15. Silver, Urban Wildlife. Photo: Roman Willi (Switzerland)
A fox among urban ruins. Location: Lucerne, Switzerland.
16. Silver, Behavior – Mammals. Photo: Elizabeth Yicheng Shen (USA)
A dead mule deer guarded by a bobcat. Location: Yellowstone National Park, USA.
17. Silver, Black and white. Photo: Tom Way (UK)
A mother elephant protects her calf. Location: Amboseli National Park, Kenya.
18. Silver, Animal Portraits. Photo: Michael Stavrakakis (Australia)
Mother and infant gorilla. Location: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
